ORIOLES QUICK WRAP Score: Orioles 8, Rays 8 Recap: Pedro Alvarez's first home run as an Oriole was a grand slam to left-center field in the second inning. He added a game-tying RBI double in the sixth. Mark Trumbo hit his second home run in two games and third this spring, a two-run shot in the third inning. Logan Morrison and Evan Longoria hit back-to-back home runs off Chris Tillman in the third. Tillman allowed three runs and five hits in four innings, with one walk and five strikeouts....

Building off of what Nationals director of player development Mark Scialabba told me about the early camp outfielders, I reached out to Nationals outfielder coordinator Gary Thurman to get more insight on this group and the progress they have made this spring. The group includes six outfielders, three teenagers and four players who can Hit from the left side. The teenagers are Telmito Agustin, Blake Perkins and Victor Robles. The others include Rafael Bautista, Andrew Stevenson and Rhett...

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Tigers 7, Nationals 6 Recap: After Saturday's rainout in Viera, the Nationals sent their entire lineup to Lakeland this afternoon, a rare occurrence for the 90-minute drive to Tigers camp. That lineup, of course, included Bryce Harper, who rose to the occasion by homering twice off former AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, including a monster shot over the 30-foot-high batter's eye in center field. Daniel Murphy also notched a couple of hits off...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Pedro Alvarez chose an opportune time to hit his first home run with the Orioles. Alvarez also provided another reminder that he can strike quickly, no matter how he's been faring at the plate. He's always a threat. Batting with the bases full today and two outs in the second inning, Alvarez drove a Jhan Marinez pitch over the left-center field fence for a grand slam that gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead over the Rays. Logan Morrison and Evan Longoria hit back-to-back home runs...

SARASOTA, Fla. - While we often hear pitchers say they need to pitch down in the zone, Orioles reliever Mychal Givens is the latest pitcher to tell me he is working on pitching up the zone. Maybe calling it an Orioles' philosophy is too strong, but clearly we've seen pitchers like Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen have success in the past at times changing hitters' eye levels and pitching up. Other pitchers this spring have mentioned they are working on elevating some pitches. Givens said he...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Dusty Baker, as a ballplayer, was considered something of a slugger for his time. He hit at least 20 home runs six times in his career. He also felt like he struck out too often. Hank Aaron, his Hall of Fame teammate in Atlanta at the start of his career, urged young hitters to shoot for striking out only once every 10 times up. Baker couldn't quite pull that off, ending his career with a strikeout rate of 11.5 percent. Three decades later, Baker will fill out a lineup card as...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman is on the shelf for at least a few more days after receiving a cortisone injection this morning in his right shoulder. Manager Buck Showalter informed the media during batting practice that Gausman would miss his next start. "Gausman has had some shoulder tendinitis, just kind of working his way through and decided to take an injection today," Showalter said. "He decided to take one just to hopefully get it cleared up. He'll be down for about three days from...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman won't make his scheduled start Monday morning at the minor league complex due to right shoulder tendinitis. Gausman has been on the medical sheet for the past week. He received a cortisone injection in the shoulder earlier today and is expected to be shut down for the next two to three days. Gausman sat at his locker with an ice pack on the shoulder. However, he talked about making his start versus the Rays' Single-A team, with a goal of throwing about 75...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Yesterday was a washout for the Nationals, literally and figuratively, since heavy rain canceled their game against the Mets before a single pitch could be thrown. As a result, manager Dusty Baker has brought his entire regular lineup to Joker Marchant Stadium for today's game against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. It's not often all these guys make the 90-minute drive to Lakeland, so this will provide a rare and intriguing matchup against a former AL MVP and Cy Young Award...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman makes his second Grapefruit League start today, as the Orioles attempt to play more than two-thirds of an inning. Weather permitting, of course. It's raining this morning, but expected to clear up by first pitch. Pedro Alvarez is batting second as the designated hitter. Mark Trumbo is in right field and Hyun Soo Kim is in left. The game is airing on MASN and 105.7 The Fan. For the Orioles Manny Machado 3B Pedro Alvarez DH Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo...